When Toni Rands was a child, she split her time with her two grandmas over summer in Las Vegas. She spent one month with her Creole paternal grandmother, Wilma Fleming Varra, and one month with her maternal grandmother, Ivy Thomas Burnett-Cartwright, who was born in Texas and of Black, Mexican and Native American heritage.
Rands was expected to help them both in the kitchen, which helped her learn to cook from a young age. Her grandmother, Wilma, once cooked professionally for the mayor and governor, and then catered out of her home kitchen. Wilma showed Rands how to cook over fire and make great smoked barbecue meats. She also taught her how to host people.
"Creole food brings together the best things of aristocracy and slavery, meaning you have deep-flavoured Indigenous Mexican and Indian foods translated through black hands to white people of all walks of life," explains Rands.
"This blending results in beautiful linen tablecloths, nice chinaware, lots of French and Portuguese cuts of meat, mostly slow-cooked over fire, fresh seasonal produce and Creole mirepoix seasoning known as the holy trinity: a mix of bell pepper, celery and onion which is the foundation to most Creole foods."
During , a feast held on Christmas Eve, Wilma would bring out her best linen and fine crystal for a spread of sausages, oysters, terrine and pate, , fried fish with cheese grits, epic pies and ice-creams. "She really was a great Dame," says Rands.
Toni Rands' Grandma Wilma. Source: Supplied
From Grandma Ivy, an institutional cook, Rands learnt how to cater for large groups and cook Mexican dishes, such as tamales, red or green Mexican rice, pinto and black beans, and California-style with ground beef.
TAMALES RECIPE
Chicken tamales with green sauce
Grandma Ivy was also famous for her love of sweet, Southern cream pies, and passed the recipes onto Rands. As a result, Rands knows how to make coconut, chocolate and banana cream pies, and baked . She's known in the family as 'Toni Pie'.
Rands' mum, Teresa, also taught her how to cook, largely because Teresa became unwell and Rands needed to help her. Sadly, when Teresa passed away when Rands was just 19, Rands took over the family kitchen, and that's when her relationship with her grandma, Ivy, grew.
Macha stacked beef enchiladas
Macha stacked beef enchiladas remind Rands of opening the door to her Grandma Ivy's home and breathing in the smells of comino spice, smoky chillies and flour tortillas that were cooking in a little oil on the on the stove.
"These enchis, as we call them in my family, are something we all love and were always on the table at big family gatherings, as it's easy to feed a lot of people really well," says Rands.
While the enchiladas are spiced and the chillies and garlic are palpable, they aren't hot. The sharp cheddar cheese and the beef create a deep savoury flavour. The macha is a type of salsa that acts as a flavour base.
Toni Rands' Grandma Ivy. Source: Toni Rands
These enchis, as we call them in my family, are something we all love and were always on the table at big family gatherings.
Rands remembers making these for the first time when she was 25 at Ivy's 77th birthday. Having been born during the Great Depression, Ivy had a stern persona and didn't give praise unless she meant it.
"When she took a second bite into my enchis that day, she called me over and said: 'Who taught you to make these because they don't taste like mine. They actually taste better than mine'.
"I nearly fell off my chair and since that day my aunts never stopped teasing me that I was her favourite."
Through the years, Ivy further praised Rands for her fried or smothered corn, her cranberry-glazed ginger-ale ham and her lime and coconut .
Toni Rands learned to cook beef stacked enchiladas from her Grandma Ivy. Source: Jonathan Wherrett
"Any time I have to impress someone, I'm going to make any four of these dishes or anything Granny Ivy taught me, and it works every single time."
Starting Honey Child Creole food truck in Tasmania
When Rands arrived in Tasmania in 2008, she ordered three so-so North American meals in a row. Concerned that authentic North American cuisine was scarce here, she wanted to do address it.
In February 2009, was born, from which she began sharing and selling the foods that both her grandmothers so diligently taught her: three-day BBQ baked beans, Mexican pickles and fruit, smoked meat sandwiches with toppers, summer fruit pies and doughnuts, and Rands' famous cinnamon roll come wintertime. Her 11-course Thanksgiving feast is also popular and sells well in advance. 
Honey Child is a Southern nickname that's given to a girl that's sassy and cute, explains Rands. Her business is guided by the promise she made to her Grandma Wilma that she wouldn't compromise the ingredients or whitewash Southerner and Creole food. "So, when people come up and ask if I have tomato sauce, I say no. I tell people it only comes with a napkin."
Toni Rands serves the food of her childhood at Honey Child's Creole Catering food truck. Source: Supplied
She now teaches kids twice a week at the project with Tasmania's . She has also co-created a new immersive food experience called with storyteller, Tamas Oszvald. It begins on 8 May in Hobart and consists of six shows.
Grandma Ivy's enchiladas were the first food she made in her Honey Child Creole Catering kitchen. "I had to make my new kitchen smell and taste like home, and during the year I will make beef enchis about five times over winter using her comal that I brought with me," she says.
"My Grandma Wilma said this is what I was born for. To tell our stories, display the traditions, and articulate the beauty of Americans of colour. And I will make sure I continue to do so through the foods they both taught me how to make and be proud of my Black Mexican and Creole heritage while doing so."
Macha beef enchiladas
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
Honey Child's Texican seasoning
- 2 cups chilli powder
- 1 cup sweet paprika
- ½ cup ground cumin
- ½ cup garlic powder
- ⅓ cup onion powder
- 2 tbsp ground dried chipotle chilli pepper or mild smoked paprika
- 4 tbsp dried oregano leaves
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted then ground
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
Enchilada sauce
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves, crushed
- 2 x 500 ml bottles tomato passata
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 4 tbsp ancho chilli powder
- 2 tbsp guajillo powder
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground chipotle
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Beef filling
- 1kg lean ground beef
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ tsp taco seasoning mix
- 2 ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp salt
To assemble
- 20 x 26 cm flour tortillas, cut into quarters
- 4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Method
Honey Child's Texican seasoning
- Mix spices together until evenly combined.
- Store in a glass jar for up to 2 months.
Enchilada sauce
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add onion and sauté for two minutes. Add garlic and spices. Toast for about 3 minutes to build flavour.
- Add remaining ingredients, except salt and pepper. Whisk as you bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes or so until thickened.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Blend into a sauce and set aside for assembly.
Beef filling
- Heat a large skillet over high heat.
- Add the beef. Break the meat into pieces and stir frequently for 2 minutes or until slightly pink.
- Add the garlic, spice mix and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the meat turns a chocolate-brown colour.
To assemble:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C and move the oven rack to the centre position. Spray oil or foil line a 23×33 cm glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Set aside one cup of the sauce for the top. This will ensure the top layer cooks through.
- Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with a layer of tortillas, overlapping them slightly. Spoon half of the beef, and any juices, over the tortillas. Top with half of the sauce and one-third of the cheese. Repeat with another layer and then top with the remaining tortillas, sauce and cheese.
- Bake, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until the casserole is heated through.
- Remove the foil and bake for 12-15 minutes more and until the cheese is completely melted.
- Let rest for 10 minutes then cut and serve with salad, rice and beans.
